


Priorities.

by SepiaWhiskey



Category: Bleach
Genre: Angry Kissing, Arguing, Bleach - Freeform, Bleach References, Disobeying Orders, Drabble, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Mild Sexual Content, Mild Smut, Reader-Insert, Reader-Interactive, barely though - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2019-01-05 04:33:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12182955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SepiaWhiskey/pseuds/SepiaWhiskey
Summary: The Reader - Lady Akagi - disobeys orders at the worse possible time. The results are a fair mix.[ Zaraki Kenpachi / Reader ]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> To be clear, this is Kenpachi [ visually ] during the Lost Substitute Shinigami Arc.
> 
> This is a different take on Aizen's betrayal, aka Soul Society Arc.
> 
> Reader is late 30s or early 40s - close to the same age range as Zaraki. Akagi is - originally - a black woman but do you.

“We stabilized her breathing, but it’s all still pretty unclear at this point. I don’t want to be negative about this but…”  
  
  
  
For all the times that she has been able to make a point of a patient’s status, Isane finds herself at an embarrassing loss for words in the presence of the Eleventh Division’s captain. Not so much in fear of the man himself [ though his exceeding height and pensive gaze do strike a bit of nervousness within her ] but the fact that she, like everyone else, have come to know what the Fourth Seat has come to modestly mean to him. Nervously, she glances to the right to catch what he may look like. His eyes are low set and mouth curved into its usual downturn - plainly put, he cannot be read. She sighs quietly and runs a hand through her lavender hair, leaving him in the center of the room to approach the deathly still Akagi.  
  
  
  
The same thought ran through everyone's mind. Why? Why had she decided to take Aizen head on all in the name of saving Rukia? She was hardly associated with the girl. Isane fixes the slacking blankets that half on her torso, gently patting before seating herself next to the bed, huffing quietly, “She was slightly conscious when we brought her in. She wasn't saying much but she just kept looking around before passing out. Meira, one of the women who brought her in, said that she-”  
  
  
  
“Stop talking.”  
  
  
  
Isane folds her lips inward, indeed falling silent at the command. She looks over her shoulder and sees him approaching, quickly sliding to the side and clasping her hands together, setting them over her mouth. Her gaze volleys between both individuals before she steps back a bit more, though is angled enough to see the softness in which Zaraki Kenpachi extends his fingers over the laceration that tears diagonally through Akagi’s slightly parted lips. He traces from end to end once, stopping at the end closest to her nostrils, staring, then pulling back only so many centimeters and casting a heavy gaze to Isane.  
  
  
  
“Leave.”  
  
  
  
Her eyes widen and she falls into confliction. She wants to keep a firm watch on the woman but is moved by a strange sight - there is something in the captain's eyes. It's not sadness or really anything distinguishable but there is certainly a falter in his usual persona of boredom. She gives a tight nod and takes a hesitant step back before turning on a heel and cutting to the side of the threshold, just outside where she stands, waving off any nurses who offer her a slower gait and cocked eyebrows. There is an immediate understanding when they move by the room, heads lowered and avoiding.  
  
  
  
__  
  
  
  
Kenpachi just stares.  
  
  
  
His immediate and resonating emotion is anger. Of course, there is a heavy portion reserved for Aizen. However, he is completely aware that most of it is directed towards the damn near comatose woman before him. He can feel his teeth grit slightly in his eased outline of her wounds. The most visible are the bruises and cuts to skin, and that's just from the torso up. Damn woman was too stubborn. For all the times she had asserted herself as a calm, semi-compliant, alternately hard hitting woman of the Eleventh Division, she had chosen the worst time to go against him.  
  
  
  
He remembers telling her to stay around the prison. Telling her explicitly to not go after any of them. Admittedly, this had been to save the harder challenges for himself but maybe somewhere in the back of his mind, he had used his position to secure her safety in the sudden attack. No lie that she could damn well handle herself and shit if that wasn't a fucking turn on but regardless, it may have been instinctual. He doesn't want to sit, but he has no intention of leaving her side for all the time she is out. What angers him most is the avoidable part of the situation. She could've been safe. Fair enough challenges within the walls yet despite this, she just had to play the fucking hero and intimate her own plan. Despite its success, he did not find the cost to be worth it.  
  
  
  
“Damn woman,” he growls lowly, wishing she could hear him. The moment she could hear him, she would get to hear him express his anger as well as that month long suspension he’d be dealing out.  
  
  
  
He is in there for a fair amount of time before leaving. There'd be no point lingering next to her in this fresh state. No telling when she would be waking up and he wasn't about to waste every moment of his time poking his head in to check on her, koibito or not. She caused her own pain and she'd have to suffer like everyone else who acted impulsively.  
  
  
  
But that's not what happens.  
  
  
  
Within three weeks following Aizen’s betrayal, he preaches internally that he won't poke around constantly but in place of a quick peek into her condition, he spends time within the day that he passes out by his paperwork to sit and watch her. He vaguely remembers Kuchiki’s sister rambling about telling Akagi about how thankful she is for her valor but she says it when he is walking to see Akagi, and he is never really in a state of coherency in those times. It's strange and frustrating but despite his lazed gait, all he can think of in these times is going to sit for another afternoon. He wants to be there when she wakes up - but he's actually convinced himself that it's because he wants to be the one to chastise her first thing. That he wants her to know what she did was reckless, even for the fucking Eleventh Division and that was really saying something. He wants her to take responsibility with a breath to rest -  
  
  
  
There is the softest twitch in her lips, the first in days. He narrows his eyes and watches carefully.  
  
  
  
Her fingers twitch to the same time and after a few moments of body twitches, her eyes ease open. The first thing she does is look to the curved ceiling above them. By the way she blinks, it's clear she is trying to regain a clear idea on what has happened. He nearly speaks but just watches her for all that he wants to say. He stays seated and waits until she catches his gaze to speak, “You’re suspended.”  
  
  
  
She looks up at him, staring at him. He looks back, equally indifferent. Her lips part a bit more and she coughs, a familiar crinkle to the sides of her eyes. He furrows his brows inadvertently in confusion of the gesture. It isn’t until the corners of her lips slide upward and a sound different from her cough sounds slightly that he realizes what this damned woman in her vanquished state of physical wounds is doing.  
  
  
  
She is laughing.  
  
  
  
Well - not so much laughing as making the attempt to. Her body softly bobs up and down somewhat and she turns her head away from him, shaking her head softly. She moves to sit up a bit more and when she only slightly slips, his hand winds tightly around her arm and he situates her up a bit more. She nods in a mute “thanks” before setting her back to the wall, exhaling softly and offering a weak smile, “Suppose you came down here just to tell me that? I expected that as much as anything.”  
  
  
  
She breathes out a soft chuckle, continuing, “You won’t believe me, but it’s true. When I started to black out with them taking me here, one of the last thoughts I had was of what you would say. Would you be mad? Would you blatantly ignore me until you felt like speaking to me? Would you leave me? At that point, my mouth had the overwhelming taste of copper and I just wanted to sleep.”  
  
  
  
“You’re so fucking suspended.”  
  
  
  
She looks back at him, glancing at his blade before looking back at him. She has a tilt in how she looks at him but is never entirely void of that teasing manner, driving his reiatsu to flare a bit. Why wasn't she taking this as seriously as he fucking wanted her too? She blinks when she feels it and gives a quiet frown, resting her head back with her eyes closed, “If you're just in here to lose your temper with me of all people, then I'm asking you to leave.”  
  
  
  
“I'm your koibito and captain, woman. You don't get that decision.”  
  
  
  
Her eyes cut towards him, “Are you almost done, then?”  
  
  
  
“Damn you…” he stands in a fair amount of frustration, glaring down at her. She glares back with an equal amount of intensity and points with little strength to fire back in verbal disgust before she is cut short. The panels of the window slam to either side of the wall and a gush of wind disrupts the stillness of the room. There is a soft cry and a rush of pink before Akagi arches her back, giving a grunting cry of pain. She wonders, in rage, why Zaraki has not ever tried to help her before she looks down upon prying the smaller thing to no avail, looking down and finding a wet cheeked Yachiru.  
  
  
  
Damn it. How was she supposed to stay upset with the poor girl looking back at her like this?  
  
  
  
“Akagi!” She cries, burying her face into the woman's shoulder. Ah. This had certainly taken a toll of the lieutenant if she was so willing to cry rather than consider the lighter side of the situation. Akagi sighs and ignores the pressure that Yachiru brings to her aches by clinging so tightly, patting her back, “ Ochitsuku , Yachiru. I'll be alright. It will take much more than that to keep me dead.”  
  
  
  
“Keep you?” she murmurs, pulling away.  
  
  
  
For the first time, Akagi feels panic hit her head - an immediate headache following without missing a beat. For all the times, she has confronted Zaraki, she has never had to look at him and say “I was dead for two minutes.” What would follow? Some witty comment about how she preferred that to his snoring at night? Any move made would be a mistake. She swallows and shrugs, clearing her throat, only looking at the lieutenant, “I was...dead for two minutes. I briefly woke up a few days ago and one of the nurses told me. I just - “  
  
  
  
She sees him leaving and actually chokes out, “I'm sorry, Zaraki!”  
  
  
  
He stops and looks over his shoulder at her, running a plain face, “No you're not. You don't listen - idiots don't listen. And that'll be what kills you permanently one day.” He grunts out the words, striding out once they're done. The argument that he was not feeling something was cancelled when he did not move to avoid people passing by, heading out just as Jushiro and Shunsui came hauling numerous and oversized bouquets, curiously watching him leave before moving to her room. What was worse was the handful of Eleventh Division men that waited outside with a few others. It sickens Zaraki further, and he ignores all questions, walking down the path, never stopping until he finds his quarters, isolating himself for the rest of the day.  
  
  
  
If there is no greater sign that he is suppressing distress, he actually does paperwork to busy himself.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why Akagi was hospitalized.  
> #flashback

__He had never seen her in the flesh.  
  
  
  
For all the places that he had travelled, Renji had never really drifted in the area of the Eleventh Division. For his 'fighting with purpose' belief, he had never sincerely thought he would fit in over there - guest or member. This was not to assume that he was unaware of the Shinigami or even the captain who had a grin of sadism to haunt nightmares - rather that he was unfamiliar with some of them beyond the hearings of rumor, save for Ikkaku and Yumichika. One rumor that floats by more often than not is the woman who domestically tamed the captain for all intents and purposes and, well, methods unknown.  
  
  
  
‘Lady Akagi…’ Rukia breathes.  
  
  
  
-Vaguely stated but widely known. He had caught a glimpse of her shadow in the home of his taicho when reporting in one day but beyond this, had never seen her beyond then and in that state. And she could not have picked a more perfect moment to dip into his life.  
  
  
  
Deflecting of a minor attack sent by Gin Ichimaru, she stands with her back to him, zanpakuto angled to the line of her chest. The attack is minor for the fact that he knows with Rukia in one arm and his other limp from holding his blade along with the worn nature that Aizen has left him in a manner of seconds, he is in desperate need of assistance, and he only prays she will be enough.  
  
  
  
Another hit, minor or devastating, would have well been fatal to him up to this point.  
  
  
  
He feels the small hand of Rukia graze his chin as she mumbles his name in regret, head low in delusion that his state of being is in any way her fault. The shortened length of Lady Akagi’s hair billows somewhat in her landing presence and she cuts a quick gaze over to the red headed lieutenant before huffing, 'Lieutenant - please take Rukia to some form of safety. I will grant your safety for as long as I am physically able to.'  
  
  
  
His breath catches in his throat - a horribly timed fault for all the panting he is forced to take. He knows he cannot protect Rukia from three captains in his position. Hell, even on his best day, these men could kill him thrice - separately. He grits his teeth and hates to want to have to run but nods and forces himself to his feet, readjusting the hold he has on Rukia who, to this point, has decided that things were becoming too dangerous to keep verbally fighting Renji.  
  
  
  
‘Leaving so soon, lieutenant?’ Gin coos, tauntingly curving his head the way an adult may do to a child in interest, looking over her shoulder. Akagi is silent, but her reiatsu is openly growing in anger. She brings her blade down, tip lagging in the dirts before she gestures behind her with the nod of her head, eyes directed to the patronizing gaze of Aizen, ‘Your endeavour would stray you down a path that allows you to kill your enemy when he is unable? Forgive me or not but I question your manhood greatly, Aizen. Greatly. There isn’t sport nor honor in that way.’  
  
  
  
The man stares, smiles, adjusts the tilt of his glasses before looking up at the woman, ‘ If that is how you wish to see it, Akagi. ‘  
  
  
  
‘That is how it is.’  
  
  
  
He shrugs, ‘I made it very clear that I simply wanted the girl. He brought this on himself.’  
  
  
  
The stand-off seems to stand as enough of a distraction to Renji, and he launches off his haunches towards the Soul Society. A soft grunt from Aizen and Gin is quick with his mutterings, a smile of sanguine all the while his sword extends in length, tearing about to either kill the lieutenant or fence him from his destination. Regardless, Akagi is quick and stands in way of its trajectory with a flash step, a throbbing pain igniting when her sword rams into her chest from the impact of deflection, astounded by the diligence of the captain’s weapon. A single foot goes behind herself to further support her push and she watches the lieutenant distance himself, pausing briefly before falling to his knee. Akagi’s eyes widen and she swears she has caught all that has been thrown before realizing this is a product of his poor health from prior, sending him down from the sudden and unhealthy rush of adrenaline. Rukia crouches to help him but it becomes clear that they will not be able to leave with a quickness as anticipated.  She curses under her breath and feels the pressure of the blade beginning to push her, glaring back at the men with no intent of relenting. Aizen looks at her peculiarly before nodding towards Gin, an instant retraction helping her stand, though her arms throb from the impact and push of protection.  
  
  
  
‘ I am not Kenpachi, Akagi. I will not waver to see you dead if you stay in my way.’  
  
  
  
She snorts, eyes remaining focused, ‘ You clearly haven’t see us train, Aizen.’  
  
  
  
‘How true that is…’ his voice drawls slowly, specks of irritation staining his impassive facade. He curves his head, ‘With no rush to leave, perhaps a demonstration is in order…?’  
  
  
  
________  
  
  
  
'Left! Go left!'  
  
  
  
Yachiru tightly hold onto the shoulder of Kenpachi, not exactly privy herself to where she was going. Her directions spring from where she hears danger and mild hints of reiatsu that flutter about. With the Society in chaos and emotions flaring, she was hard pressed to tell people apart. Typically, Lady Akagi was the one to fare quietly but strongly and she would be able to pick her out of a crowd but -  
  
  
  
Her legs flail a bit at the sharp turn left and she huffs, holding on a bit tighter.  
  
-today was a different story. They were on the hunt for the orange haired Shinigami with the weight full zanpakuto. He was hard pressed to fight him again with little to no reason beyond a challenge. Disregarding of the chaos of Rukia’s escape and embarking on a personal challenge of his own. She didn't expect different from him, honestly. Just happy to be along for the ride. She points straight ahead with determination and a quiet giggle lacing her directions. He moves forward before suddenly halting, face fading to an uncharacteristic serious.  
  
  
  
'Kenny?' She hums, looking over his shoulder, 'Go straight.'  
  
  
  
'Where is Akagi?' He grunts, head turned halfway.  
  
  
  
She shrugs, but gives a coy smirk despite being unseen, 'I haven't been able to track anyone distinctly. Everyone's so concentrated. Everything looks the same. She may have gone to help the others secure the prison. Whhyyyyy?'  
  
  
  
He grunts, pauses, seeming to think before continuing forward, 'Where do I turn next?'  
  
  
  
______  
  
  
  
The impact of the ground nearly knocks the wind free of Akagi before she manages to roll back onto her feet, hand to the ground as she looks up, the rise of panting occurring where Aizen was steady and fine, irrefutably. For him, he has the minimal amount of interest in how hard this woman fights to keep him at bay. Quietly, he is annoyed with himself for her essential success. Each time he takes a step, he realizes finally, she has him back in place between Tousen and Gin. Through and through, he knows that she will not be able to do anything beyond deflect and dares to draw her to take the offensive where he knows he is superior. She’s little beyond a nuisance but has startlingly proven herself effective.  
  
  
  
Agaki can feel the familiar cold of something wet sliding down the right of her right eye and she sees blood slip down as though it were sweat, dripping quietly onto the white of her hakama before she can think about wiping it away. Another curse runs through her and she realizes that the delivered blow has sent her directly next to Renji and Rukia who look at her with fearful caution, glancing back and forth. They question her reason for not taking the man on completely but it dawns on the shorter Shinigami that Akagi was aware she was not strong enough to best one and be able to handle the other two. She was buying time until the others arrived to aid her. A cautious tactic but still a dangerous game, serving as a one woman shield for the two.  
  
  
  
She spends much time deflecting and firing long range attacks that Aizen easily removes himself from, watching her with an unfamiliar expression.  
  
  
  
“His reiatsu is suffocating,” she thinks, her panting more so than it would be in a regular fight. It would explain how easily the lieutenant went down. For this, she must be tactical in this man's presence, which goes against everything in her that simply just wants to slice his head clean. She can feel the tightening of her limbs for the extended battle and lifts her blade again, aware of Aizen consistently moving towards Renji and Rukia in a calm manner, shooting looks of irritation when he is forced to step back and let Akagi take chance at his life. His calmness offends her; she never wanted fear, but was open to some form of effort on his part. Despite her efforts of protection working, the increase of heartbeat in anger reminds her why she is in the Eleventh Division.  
  
  
  
‘Have you tired yourself out yet, Akagi?’  
  
  
  
‘I rest in death, Sosuke. You're a fool all the same.’  
  
  
  
He smiles, once more adjusting his lens, ‘Say that again - without the blood on your face.’  
  
  
  
‘Why are we entertaining this girl?’ Tousen questions, though there doesn't seem to be a hint of disgust or pointed expression in it. Like he quite literally cannot fathom why Akagi has not been dealt with the way a parent cannot fathom why homework is unfinished. Aizen looks over his shoulder at the man, ‘She's amusing. There's something amusing about watching a Fourth Seat try and best a Captain - three, accurately. She's been trying to manage a way to spread out her attacks but I have yet to give her a window to do so.’  
  
  
  
Akagi contains her astonishment.  
  
  
  
‘And of course,” he turns back to her, ‘You would not be so confident in purely defending unless you expected back up - which is why you haven’t completely gone and tried to fight me. A smart move not doing so but your precious hopes of back up will do little to even the score of anything. You will still die in these sands and I will still have the Shinigami girl you have there. I have no problem drawing out the inevitable with a few more guests. ’    
  
  
  
And that’s when he knows he has her. He sees the burning in her eyes and shifts his foot somewhat, unseen to the untrained eye. She forces her feet to keep her upright, taking stance to the Isshiki stance of Gatotsu, eyes narrowed and aimed towards Aizen. In the midst of her preparation, Akagi is no fool -  
  
  
  
She knows she may die.  
  
  
  
Aizen has always exuded power in his tactics and attacks but there is little she is interested in this moment beyond protecting the two behind her who are physically unable. She has never known them personally, but they both stands as relevant for the life flowing through them and selfishly more so because of their positions in her friend, Byakuya’s life. His lieutenant and sister. She was bound to protect them, she concludes, that was just the way it would have to be.  
  
  
  
There is a crackling sound in the sky that is faint but caught by all ears.  
  
  
  
The woman adjusts her feet and angles her fingers accordingly -  
  
  
  
‘Gatotsu Isshiki!’  
  
  
  
______  
  
  
  
When Kenpachi can see the sudden burst of clouds and lethal fire of lightning that tears outside the barracks, he feels a rush of anger, frustration, and - no, that was about it. Relationship aside - you had disobeyed orders to remain within the walls, leaving whatever were to happen to the Captains. He expected some form of rebellion of you one of these days, but certainly not to the extent of putting yourself up against a captain like Aizen. He had never liked the bastard but damned if he wasn’t aware of his skill. Luckily, this serves as a viable distraction for the lack of one this damned human with a strange arm happened to be. He grits his teeth and steps back, ‘Damned woman went after Aizen.’  
  
  
  
Yachiru gasps when she herself sees the clouds, ‘We gotta help her Kenny!’  
  
  
  
A quick grunt and Yachiru feels her legs flying again at the sudden break of a run the man. She can finally feel things calming down quietly within the walls, though for what reason she is not entirely sure. The ones outside the walls remain positively charged and vague. Clearly even Kenny cannot feel the difference, which says plenty about Akagi in times of anger.  
  
  
  
Then, it all stops.  
  
  
  
The rush of clouds ends quickly and there is a deathly silence, sky dissipating to reveal a calm blue that can mean two drastic truths. There's not much to consider when Yachiru mumbles quietly, “I can't see her anymore…”  
  
  
  
He never stops running.  
  
  
  
_______  
  
  
  
‘It seems your backup is closing in, Akagi. Will you be breathing long enough to see your wait be for?”  
  
  
  
The stillness of her body tears Rukia away, despite reasonable objections from Renji and the girl is on her knees, trying to move the slouched body of the Fourth Seat from it’s place, shaking her with a desperateness in her voice at the call of her name. How many people would be hurt trying to protect her? And then to have Lady Akagi die for her. Renji moves himself forth and is stopped by the indenting pressure of Gin’s geta against his hand, releasing a sharp shout of pain before closing the distance between himself and the stilled body of the woman, smile as complacent and firm as it had been upon initial confrontation, ‘Pity. Kenpachi made her pretty strong. If she was stronger, you should have asked her to come along. Not that she would have agreed but she would at least she would have died much earlier and less painfully. But this was her decision. No point harping in hindsight…”  
  
  
  
His hand glides to the back of Rukia’s head, grasping the back of her hair and bringing her up by his grip alone, her own body paralyzed by reasons she cannot fathom, fingers curled around the sleeve of Akagi’s hakama, softly losing their grip. Aizen pulls her without much effort but turns halfway to the sound of soft movement - internally astounded to find the woman wheezing softly in breathes. The white of her left eye has been completely coated in the red of a broken blood vessel but she manages to draw her gaze down to the two of them, lips moving but nothing quite being clear.  
  
  
  
He grins, ‘What was that, Akagi?’  
  
  
  
She looks up at him, blinking profusely by the dirt so close before she pushes out, ‘Hado.’  
  
  
  
The man frowns and it is only seconds before there is a burst of blood red that ignites in a vicious explosion, forcing the ex-captain to jerk back, leaving Rukia to take the brunt of the attack. It is weak, but it would have been enough to mess with his captain robes. Rukia coughs amongst the lifted dust and looks down at the woman, pushing her onto her back.  
  
  
  
‘Enough of this,’ Tousen sounds, drawing his sword before there is an impactful slam to the ground, furthering the rush of dust onto the ground. When gazes are set up and the person is realized, Renji is on a knee and feeling a lightness in his chest, ‘Captain Komamura!’  
  
  
  
The wolf snorts and glances at the lieutenant, looking at Akagi before nodding towards the walls, ‘Get her medical aid before Zaraki sees her. We don’t need him going crazy. You’re a fool woman - to have come out here alone.’ His words glide to her ears and Rukia swears she hears a soft lay of a scoff by her, though it is likely fiction by her state of being. He stands a moment but it becomes clear by the compounding presence of masters that Renji was not the one he was speaking to. A woman comes through a flash step and slips her hands under the frame of Akagi, lifting her and vanishing before another second could be counter. Rukia breathes lowly in relief and cannot help but thank the woman despite her absence. All that she had endured for the simple expectation of backup - for her.  
  
  
  
“Arigatō, Lady Akgai. Arigatō.”  
  
  
  
_____________  
  
  
  
She can feel her reiatsu dimming, and wonders if Kenny can feel it too.  
  
  
  
He certainly stops running around the same time she feels the lack of pressure and stays quiet - not a common practice for the girl. She looks at him over his shoulder and manages out, “I can’t read where she is anymore, Kenny. Where are we gonna go next?” She blinks to his lack of response, “Kenny? Kenny?” Her eyes follow his gaze and she becomes aware of the blood dripped path that leads forth into the quarters of the medical quarters.  
  
  
  
‘Akagi.’


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zaraki and Akagi speak.

**Patient Room 021**  
  
  
Akagi’s time in the hospital is a fair four weeks, but in those weeks she receives enough gifts and condolences from captains and others alike to maintain a positive self image for years. Shunsui brings [ sneaks ] in sake for her that they drink together. Jushiro offers an update on the reconstruction of the a Soul Society with soothing words and little massages to her shoulders. The men of Eleventh are a little less...open about their worry. They let themselves speak through gifts of flowers that they quickly drop off and leave without a word. It says enough and she smiles with a nod to each one.  
  
  
  
Byakuya visits in the night and sits with her, bringing tea. Sometimes they speak - sometimes they simply sit in the silence and admire the taste of whatever tea he has brought to her bedside. Eventually, and it stays with her because she's not used to the man being open, he sits quietly one night. The cup lingers to his lips but he stops and seems to contemplate his words a moment before looking up at her, “You protected my sister. Backed my lieutenant. Risked your entire being. I could never completely express my thanks to you enough, Akagi.”  
  
  
  
She smiles softly, “Instinctual - you have nothing to thank me for.”  
  
  
  
“My gratitude remains.” He drinks. Jasmine tea.  
  
  
  
“If only the sentiment were infectious…” she hears the bitterness in her voice and immediately regrets letting herself emote so childishly. It even seems to catch Byakuya off guard and he looks at her with tamed curiosity. She stop, thinks, then sigh, sitting back, “I’m accustomed to Zaraki’s singular way of handling things, but this is the first time I have seen him genuinely angry. Usually, he deals out punishments so people don’t think he’s lacking or doesn’t care - but he’s barred me completely from everything related to the Eleventh Division. I thought refusing to sleep with him -  
  
  
  
Byakuya crinkles his nose.  
  
  
  
She frowns dramatically, “ In the same bed, Byakuya. In the same bed. If I did that, then he’d come to his senses. The man seems to welcome the idea. Pissed that I’ve gone against what he’s said when I’ve seen lesser ranked men do the same thing and get off much eaiser than I’ve been.”  
  
  
“You left the walls and fought the most hated man in the Soul Society. There is a very real chance that he thought you would get hurt.”  
  
  
“Zaraki has never worried about that,” She snorts with infinite disbelief, shaking her head and resting the back of her head against the wall, closing her eye, “Hasn’t spoken to me since my suspension. Anything he actually must tell me he puts through to Yachiru. I find myself getting some sort of happiness when I see her coming in my direction. Pathetic. It’s never anything personal. Just official information that doesn’t pertain to me - nearly throwing the suspension in my face...you’re letting me ramble.” She looks at the man in irritation. Byakuya shakes his head slowly, “I’m letting you rant. I’m not partial to the act of emotional expression but you seem to have been as of late. I’m trying to be...supportive. Rukia would have me believe that I can be a bit callous.”  
  
  
  
Akagi scoffs, “Nonsense.”  
  
  
She swear she sees a flicker of amusement, but again, likely imagination.  
  
  
  
His eyes glance upward towards the small window of her room and he stands, “I have to go now. I’m expected in the morning with a few of the other captains. I’ll be back tomorrow night if I can spare the sleep.”  
  
  
  
She chuckles, “No need, yūjin. Tonight is my last night immobilized. I’ll be up and walking tomorrow. We can continue our afternoon tea once again, if I’m not tugged by Shunsui to continue our new tradition of sake.” He nods with a turn and she hears the faintest scoff that makes her pivot, “Did you just -?”  
  
  
  
He was already gone.  
  
____  
  
**Women’s Association Meeting** **  
****  
****[ Byakuya’s Home ]**  
  
  
She’s so quiet during the meeting. That much even Yachiru can see. For what little tea is left, she sits to the farther back and watches the women tease and laugh about, delicately holding the small cup in her fingers. The pink haired lieutenant feels a tugging frown and it isn’t long before her emotions withdraw into a sad place. It’s rare, because typically, she enjoys making Lady Akagi feel better through jokes, food, or really anything on hand - but as of late, it’s been the opposite. Kenny had suspended her, as explicitly promised, and wouldn’t even let her take part  in the division’s training. In slumber, he had hidden her zanpakuto and left her quite irritated as of late, a first for the woman at least openly.  
  
  
  
It takes a short while for the Women’s Association members to notice and look at her softly. It is Isane who comes up quietly to the women, lowering to her knees and resting her hands in the same place. Akagi stares straight ahead but glances towards the woman briefly to signal that her attention has been offered. The woman offers a small smile, “Enough time has passed. Your stitches on your thigh will be able to come off tonight. So - I mean, if you’d like to come after hours, I’d be more than willing to remove them myself.”  
  
  
  
Yachiru flits her gaze up at the woman.  
  
  
  
Akagai is silent.

  


Then: “Thank you, Isane.”  
  
  
  
The woman smiles with a small bow of the head before offering her distance and returning to a seat between Matsumoto and Momo who, just as everyone else, glances openly towards her. Finally, the woman casts a brow upward and surveys the room. It is honestly the first time she has noticed the attention to her silence and feels a mild wave of anxiety before it passes and she is simply a bit annoyed. No one speaks. No one makes a move. Even the young Yachiru stares with wide eyes, blinking curiously towards the women. It's an awkward full minute before she finally stands, “I think I will take myself home. It's getting late.”  
  
  
  
Not that I have anything to look forward to, she thinks bitterly.  
  
  
  
She stands and can feel the shifting reiatsu of Yachiru before she turns her head, eyes soft, “I would prefer time to myself, lieutenant. If you wouldn’t mind.” There is no hurt in her eyes when she nods to Akagi, and there is a clear reminder to Akagi that Yachiru has never been as immature as her height would offer. The woman nods and gives a bow of the head to the women before opening the door, finding the startled eyes of Byakuya in realization that he had not rid of the problem. Akagi moves past him regardless of this - however, she laughs about it later when she remembers it.  
  
  
  
____  
  
  
  
**Patient Room 021** **  
****  
****12:00PM**  
  
  
“Arigatou, Isane. You’re too kind.”  
  
  
Through her concentration to cut the knot and pull with the tweezers, Isane manages a smile to Akagi and nods, continuing the small path of stitches up her thigh. When she finishes, the scar bothers Akagi in realization of who has left it there. Within the past four week, she has come to understand the anger of Zaraki. She is not in agreement of what he has done in turn of just expressing that he was worried about her. In total, she has counted the amount of scars surrounding her and finds the count adding to seventeen. She has never been materialistic but she has a newfound sentiment of ugliness. She feels like a battered, beginner Shinigami and it makes her feel weak as well. There is a scar that peeks up her neck and stops at the structure of her jaw. It shows how close she had been to death and it actually scares her when she sees it in the mirror. Was she reckless? She didn’t feel like he was. She had done something good. If choosing the safety of those behind her was wrong, then she had no problem being suspended for the rest of her -  
  
  
  
“ OH! Y-you scared me, Captain.”  
  
  
Byakuya. He was always scaring people with how silent he -  
  
  
  
She look up from the scar on her leg and cock an eyebrow when she sees Zaraki standing there. It’s actually her first response, and she doesn’t know why. She’s more confused than anything and cannot fathom what purpose he could possibly think she’d want to talk other than him lifting her suspension? The small voice of immaturity in her screams with excitement and explains quickly that this is the perfect time to snap and bitch - but the better side of her that was raised to always be the bigger person has her speak:  
  
  
“Yes, captain?” She breathes evenly, rubbing fingers over her thigh. There is still a small bit of the stitches that needs to be cut and she focuses her gaze on it for a long while before the silence becomes strange and she hear his voice for the first time, “You’re still suspended.”  
  
  
  
Everything comes all at once and she feels the anger in her rise before her hand clutches the nearest thing, that being a food tray. The only thing being water on it falls to the ground and she swings it with all that she has in her scarred arm to his face, only to be stopped with a hand grasping her wrist, stopping her short. Isane takes the hint and slinks out, promising to come back when they were done. Zaraki says nothing to any of the situation and Akagi glares with a look of anger in her eyes, the first genuine bit of rage she had for him. He looks down at her evenly, keeping her wrist in hand.  
  
  
  
She yanks away and rubs her wrist, sitting down and calming herself, “You’ve really pushed it lately with me, koibito . I did what I had to do to -”  
  
  
“I didn’t ask you to do what you had to do. I told you to stay by the prison.”  
  
  
“Well, it’s possible you made the wrong call.”  
  
  
  
“That wasn’t your decision to make.”  
  
  
  
“Damn you, Zaraki!” She stands. Were she tall enough, she might loom, but she feels foolish herself trying to stand against him. He frowns down at her but says nothing. She swears she can nearly hear him thinking aloud and wonders what he could possibly be conceiving in his mind. He doesn’t look her in the eyes but he is looking at her, she just can’t tell where. She tilts her head a bit, “I never thought to say it - I always thought it was my imagination, but you have let your personal emotions take you to the assumption that I am not strong enough - “  
  
  
  
“You weren’t. Not this time.”  
  
  
  
“I...that’s not the point!”  
  
  
  
“That’s the point you just made.”  
  
  
  
Fuck. Was he actually one upping her without effort? Wasn’t this usually the other way around.  
  
  
  
She’s almost thankful that his sudden gesture of taking her chin stops her from yelling, because she was starting to sound like a damned fool. She tilt her head up to follow in suspicion. Small chills go down her back feeling his thumb trace the scar that ran down her throat. She watches his expression and sees his brow furrow a moment. While the Eleventh Division captain is not directly looking into her eyes, there is something so faint that she nearly misses it. Through those concentrated orbs that see the scar on her throat he seems to try and maintain it but fails -  
  
  
  
They are shaking.  
  
  
  
Perhaps it was more of a quiver but they were still in a state of repressed distress. It had not occurred to her until this moment that perhaps it had nothing to do with power or maintaining his hold, but a more personal matter. He didn’t want to lose her and she had thrown herself into a winning situation for that exact result. His eyes remain on the scar and he seems almost stuck. Her gaze flits to the door a moment, then to the scars he has himself. Her hand slides up onto his cheek. His jaw is tight. She feels a sinking feeling of guilt she hadn’t before and pulls his hand from her own jaw, both hands moved to his cheeks. He finally looks down at her, asserting that false sense of neutrality. She shakes her head and sighs, looking down, “I’m sorry. Truly. As your subordinate and your _koibito_. I didn’t realize how...I didn’t know you could even get so damn hurt or emotional. Or whatever it is that won’t hurt your pride.”  
  
  
  
Unlike Byakuya, she knows she sees a smirk teasing.  
  
  
  
Her fingers softly graze his skin and she sighs, shaking her head, “Byakuya is a dear friend. It’s the only reason I went against you. As much as it hurts my own pride, I apologize.” She looks up at him, frowning, “But you have to apologize for suspending me just because you couldn’t -”  
  
  
  
She must grip his hakama to keep her balance when he tightly pulls her forth, slamming his mouth onto hers with force. There is an immediate withdraw of a moan on her part, albeit modest in sound. The back of her legs hit the bed. She manages a few inches and look up at him with a faint smirk , “ _Watashitachi wa koko de sore o suru tsumori wa arimasen. Sore wa hazukashī …”_  
  
  
  
“There you go again, telling me what you’re going to do…”  His arousal only elevates when he slides a hand down, slipping under her attire and grasps her thigh in a possessive claim. Her bare toes curl a bit and she affirms a hold onto his nape, biting her lip when he attacks her neck with animalistic bites. In honesty, she couldn't be too surprised. For as little as they actually argued, this was the typical conclusion to those occasional spats.  
  
  
  
“Augh - Zaraki…”  
  
  
  
She feels his blunt nails dig into her thigh, creeping up her flesh until he feels the soft fabric of her panties underneath. He shoots a lustful gaze up into her eyes and she has a hard time keeping upright a moment. Once he hooks his fingers in, she is flat on the hospital bed and back with her mouth over his, shifting it loose from his shoulders. He growls lowly, _“Watashi no namae o ii.”_  
  
  
  
She feels his fingers slip up her inner thighs and void of preamble, he inserts his index and middle halfway. She bucks a bit against him and looks up, void of her social elegance and calmness. That was why he smirked - why he laughed in that barking sound when people commented on her “royal like personality.” Because when it was the two of them, she was as human as everyone else - and just as damn lecherous as he could be. She'd said things to him that made him question just who she was under that persona. He preferred it that way, though. Preferred to have her to himself.  
  
  
  
“Zaraki…” she breathes.  
  
  
  
He breathes her name lowly against her ear, curling inward and shuddering when she digs her nails into his bare back, whimpering with a soft turn of the head. She wants to pull his clothing all the way down but she is disturbed with a casted shadow that jumps when she pulls herself up, bringing the sleeves of her hakama up. Zaraki grunts when she stops him and she pulls his wrist, pulling him from and out of her.  
  
  
  
To the door, Isane holds a shaky hands up to her eyes, tweezers in hand, “I just wanted to finish your stitches, Lady Akagi! I - I….”  
  
  
  
“Isane….” She breathes, looking down at herself before cursing under her breath before standing and clearing her throat, approaching and removing her hand. She looks up a bit fearfully and Akagi sets a hand to her own heart, “We will finish now. But you must promise me you won't tell anyone what you saw..." She smirks feeling Kenpachi slide past her to leave, fingers grazing her ass before he is gone without another word. She is unaware of the weight in her chest until it left and she is in a calmer state of being seemed to seep slowly back into you. A laxed gaze rolls over to Isane in verification and the woman nods slowly. The poor thing.  
  
  
  
You smile warmly, eyes closed, “Great. so let's get back to that stitches removal, hm?”


End file.
